Turning Back Time
by OUATLovr
Summary: "I don't want to be fourteen again!" On the way back from Manhattan aboard the Jolly Roger, Gold decides that his abandonment was too much to ask Baelfire to forgive him for and that the only way he will get his second chance with his son is if he turns Baelfire back into a fourteen year old, with no memory of his life after falling through the portal...
1. Rumpelstiltskin's Decision

Turning Back Time

Chapter 1

Rumplestiltskin had made a promise to Belle that he would be a better man. Now she was gone. No, she wasn't dead, but her memory of him had been completely erased by the same conniving fool of a pirate who seemed to make it his mission in life to do everything in his power to destroy Rumpel's happiness. He'd stolen Rumpel's wife, he'd suddenly materialized with Cora into Storybrooke and stolen the one thing Rumpel still had that had been his son's. When that wasn't enough, he'd shot Belle and made her fall over the town line.

Rumpel had tried to keep his promise to her, to be a better man than he had been. That was why he had left Storybrooke with Emma and her son to find his boy. Now, he was seriously regretting it.

Baelfire had every right to hate him, but hearing those words from his own mouth after the years Rumpel had invested in trying to find him...Bae hated him. Belle didn't even know who he was anymore. And he was dying.

The door to the cabin he was inhabiting opened suddenly and Rumpel looked up, lifting his head, his expression hopeful.

"Emma," he sighed, lowering his head back down on the pillow that had been made out of Bae's-Neal's- jacket. He tried not to sound too disappointed. After all, Bae had made his feelings quite clear earlier, hadn't he?

"How are you feeling, Mr. Gold?" Her voice was uncharacteristically strained. She looked like she would rather be anywhere else. "Do you need anything?"

Mr. Gold eyed her. "Just wonderful, Miss Swan," he muttered sarcastically.

Emma came over until she was standing right in front of him. "Neal is your son. And he's Henry's father. I guess that makes us family."

Rumpel resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Incredible grasp of the obvious. She suddenly reminded him of her mother. It was the first time. "Yes, it would appear so, Miss Swan."

"You're going to be all right, Mr. Gold. We'll get you back to Storybrooke and then everything...you're going to be all right."

"Don't attempt to comfort me, Miss Swan; it doesn't suit you." Now she was spouting hopeless cliches-she'd been spending entirely too much time around her mother.

This received him an icy glare. "Just yell if you need anything, Mr. Gold," she muttered curtly and then turned and marched out of the cabin, slamming the door behind her. Mr. Gold lowered his head back onto Neal's jacket, which still smelled remarkably of the Baelfire he remembered, even after all these years, and attempted to get some rest. He was sure he would need it. He already had a plan in motion, a good one that would take care of everything, but Belle's coerced promise was holding him back. He'd promised to be a better man.

He'd also promised, long before that, that he would never abandon his son. And now that he finally had him back, he didn't intend to lose him again.

Firm in his resolution, Rumpel ignored the pain in his chest, and, satisfied at the final touches to his plan, closed his eyes.

ǁ

"...That's who you are. Goodbye, Belle." Rumpel clicked off the cell, and attempted to hand it back to Emma, but his weak arm fell back against his body, and the cell fell onto the blanket softly.

"I didn't know you had that in you," Neal whispered, his voice hoarse.

"Oh, you'll find I'm full of love," Rumpel replied, glancing out of the corner of his eye at his son. Was it just his imagination, or was Neal actually on the point of tears? He reached a hand out, his eyes pleading although his son was not looking at him.

Rumpel's eyes filled as he stared up at his son, and then he wasn't seeing the scruffy man before him, but the little boy he remembered, the one who stared up at him with eyes full of hurt as he let go over that ravine, not to see his son again for more than two centuries as he chose magic over his son. He had vowed then that he would find his son, and make right the wrong he had done him. Now, seeing the pain in his son's eyes, he knew he would never make right what he had done. Neal would never forgive him.

But Baelfire just might. The thought was there before Rumpel could stop it, and once it surfaced, he couldn't be rid of it. Not for the first time, he wondered how Neal and Emma had met if Emma had done jail time around the time Henry was born.

"I'm still angry," Neal's voice was husky with emotion. He was so stubborn.

Rumpel nodded. "I know."

He kept his hand out, as agonizing as that was to do in his weakened state, waiting, desperate. Then, to his complete shock, Neal grabbed his hand and clasped it between both of his, holding so tight Rumpel was sure the circulation in his wrist would stop. He swallowed hard and laid his head against Neal's hand. He knew this wouldn't last, that he would die soon because Snow White wouldn't be able to kill someone, no matter how evil. And his son was only here, only holding his hand and caring because Rumpel was dying.

ǁ

Emma glanced at Neal. "What just happened?" she demanded, glancing around at their surroundings. A moment earlier they had been in Gold's shop, protecting the dying man from Cora. Now they were in a forest...Mr. Gold was alone with Regina and Cora, and Cora had the dagger. That would not end well.

"We need to get back into town," she stated, then bit the inside of her cheek. Where had Mary Margaret and David gone again? They had been there, and then they were gone, leaving Emma and Neal to deal with Cora and Regina by themselves! For a moment, anger rushed through her, but one look at Neal and she buried it. His face was pale and he was sweating. His mouth hung open in horror at the thought that Mr. Gold was alone with the two women who planned to kill him.

"This way," she said, grabbing his arm and dragging him back in the direction of the city. They started jogging, Neal not trusting himself to speak. _Papa..._

Something seemed different about the town when they finally made it back, stepping out in front of the hospital. Mr. Gold's shop was still two blocks away, but already Emma knew with a sinking feeling that they were too late. Mr. Gold, in his weakened state, would not have been able to survive against the two witches.

Emma recognized Leroy-Grumpy-as he came running towards her. "What's going on?" he demanded. "Where's Snow?"

Emma shook her head and shoved him out of the way. Neal had ignored Leroy altogether and was halfway down the block. She hurried to catch up with him.

They made it to Mr. Gold's shop and Neal threw open the door, running inside and letting it slam behind him. Emma ground her teeth and pushed the door in, coming in after him. _Ladies first._

What she saw when she entered the back of Mr. Gold's shop caused her to stop cold in her tracks. She swallowed. She felt like she should say something, anything, but no words came to mind. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mary Margaret, standing next to David, a hand over her mouth, and a look of pure horror on her face.

Regina rocked the dead body of her mother in her arms, tears falling from her dark brown eyes. Her teeth were set together in anger, and she was glaring at Mary Margaret in a way that made Emma cringe.

Mr. Gold stood behind Regina, safe from her wrath now. He held a long, jagged knife in his hands. The Dark One's dagger?

Mr. Gold wasn't looking at her, though, he was staring with wide, sad eyes at his son. "Bae..." he whispered.

Neal was glaring at him. "Did you kill her?" he demanded of his father, his eyes hard.

Mr. Gold shook his head, mutely, glancing at Snow in an accusatory fashion. Mary Margaret let out a whimper, and then turned and fled from the room. David gave Mr. Gold _the_ look and then hurried after his wife.

Regina and her mother's body suddenly disappeared in a puff of spoke, and Emma took a step back from the spot where she had been just a moment ago.

Neal was still glaring at Mr. Gold. It was obvious from the look in his eyes that he didn't believe it. Emma wasn't sure she did, either. She honestly couldn't imagine Mary Margaret killing anyone.

Seeing the look that Neal was giving Mr. Gold and remembering the last time that look had been directed at her, Emma quickly excused herself, citing the need to go and check on Mary Margaret.

ǁ

"Bae..." Mr. Gold began, using the same voice he had always used after he'd done something bad back in the Enchanted Forest, trying to appease his son.

"Don't." Neal's voice was hard. "Maybe you didn't kill her, but Mary Margaret didn't just come up with the idea to kill Cora on her own. She's too...pure. So you obviously had a hand in it."

Mr. Gold sighed, hanging his head. He'd been right. His son might have been kind to him earlier, but he would never forgive him for leaving him all those years ago, and every time something bad happened, he would hold his father to blame.

Mr. Gold reached for his cane, setting down the dagger on the table next to his makeshift bed, and crossed the room. Stifling the sadness when he walked in front of his son and Neal took a step back, he raised his free hand in innocence.

"I didn't kill Cora, Bae," he reassured his son, knowing the young man wouldn't believe him. "But when she died, my wound was healed, thanks to a possession of Mary Margaret's." Taking advantage of Bae's distraction at these words, Mr. Gold crossed into the other room, searching for it.

Suspicious, Neal followed him. "What are you doing?" he demanded.

Mr. Gold turned his back on his son, frowning. He walked behind the counter, reaching down for the small box that he'd kept locked with magic ever since he had made the curse inside. Waving his hand over the box opened it and he pulled out the powder, shoving it up his sleeve. Then he straightened again and turned to his son.

He hadn't wanted to resort to this, but Bae was leaving him no choice. His son didn't love him and never would again, not after what he'd done. He'd lost his son's love when he'd left him on the ravine. And no amount of searching, no matter how long Rumpel had searched, would ever make up for that. Neal would hate him forever. But he might still have a chance to make up for it. He hoped that Belle would have understood.

"I'm protecting you, son. From my mistake and the pain you've had to live through since then." The cap on the bottle flew off, and a purplish powder filled the air, turning into purple smoke as it went higher. Neal's eyed widened and he turned on his heel, rushing towards the door. He threw himself against it with all his might, twisting savagely at the knob. It wouldn't budge.

"You can't do this!" he shouted angrily, turning back just as the purple smoke reached him.

Mr. Gold felt a single tear slip down his cheek as he watched the purple smoke surround his son, on all sides. His face scrunched up, threatening more tears. "I'm sorry, Bae," he murmured. He was keeping his promise, he told himself. This was the only way.

Neal collapsed to the ground with a loud huff, the purple smoke encircling him. Then it disappeared altogether, its magic spent, and he lay on his back on the floor, unconscious, his arms splayed out in front of him, mouth open slightly. But the young man lying on the ground was no longer Neal Cassidy.

The hair had grown out to be just above shoulder length, in wavy brown ringlets. The partial beard was gone entirely, revealing smooth, pink skin on his chin. His legs were shorter. His body was thinner. The clothes he had been wearing before were gone, replaced by the shirt, overcoat, and trousers Bae had been wearing the night Rumpel had lost him to the portal. They looked more ragged than back then, worn through in several places.

Rumpel walked around the counter and knelt down before his fourteen year old son, running a hand through his hair. "Bae," he whispered, shaking him gently.

The boy moaned in his sleep and Rumpel shook him harder this time, effectively waking him up. Bae woke slowly, just as he always had in the early mornings, bleary-eyed and yawning. He glanced around him, not really registering anything, and sat up.

Rumpel kept his hand behind the boy's back, steadying him until the boy was in a sitting position.

Then Bae looked around for the first time, took everything in, and gasped. "Papa?" he croaked.

Rumpel smiled and wrapped an arm around his thin shoulders. "I'm right here, Bae. It's all right. You're safe."

Bae turned into his father and hugged him, burying his head in his papa's shirt like he used to when he had a bad dream. When he still trusted his papa. The thought made his papa smile.

Bae nodded, getting up with the help of his papa and taking in the unfamiliar objects in the room. The grandfather clock ticking on the wall. The gun lying on the counter. The car that whipped by outside.

"Where are we?"

To Be Continued...

Please Review! This is my first fanfic, so no flames, please!


	2. Baelfire

A/N: Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! Wow! One hundred and fifty views in one day! Merry Christmas everybody! I know I told some of you I would have it updated by friday night...I fell asleep watching too many Christmas movies and I didn't quite like the ending of this so I redid it so here you go!

Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time...

Baelfire

Bae snuggled deeper into his bed, the heavy blankets tucked up to his chin. He shivered and his shaggy hair shook out in all directions. He didn't remember it ever being this cold back home. When he'd asked his papa about it, his Papa had promised to "turn on" something called a "heater" and claimed this would make every room in the palace magically warm. Of course, his papa hadn't used the actual word magic to explain it. He wouldn't, but Bae knew that was the only way this feat could be achieved.

The door creaked open suddenly and his papa walked in the room, leaning heavily on a black cane, his long hair swishing as he walked. Bae glanced up as the door quietly shut behind him.

Papa looked different here. His gold skin was gone, replaced by the normal skin of a mortal. The limp he'd had until over a year ago was back, too. He wasn't wearing the shiny clothing Bae knew his papa had enjoyed in the Enchanted Forest, but a black suit and a dark blue shirt, the overall effect a little darker than usual. Rumpelstiltskin usually liked bright, shiny colors that complemented his skin. Bae shook his head. He was happy his papa was back. The real papa.

"That better, Bae?" Rumpel asked with a kind smile that stretched the skin around his face, as if it were almost painful. The smile didn't reach his eyes.

Bae nodded, all of a sudden feeling quite warm. He glanced around. The room his papa had found for him was small and quite plain compared to the rest of the mansion. There were no windows in it, either, even though the rest of the rooms in the house seemed to have them. Another door led into Bae's private bathroom (which Rumpel had, with much embarrassment on Bae's part, had to teach him how to use), and there was a wardrobe in the corner, filled with Baelfire's clothing, which was much more comfortable in this world.

Rumpel looked a little hesitant to leave. He walked around the room, tidying things up, before finally turning to his son. "Do you need anything?"

Bae yawned in response.

Rumpel, despite himself, smiled again. "Good night then, Bae." He started to go, cane clicking against the wooden floor.

"Papa?" Bae's voice held him back. Rumpel turned expectantly. "Will you stay with me? Just until I fall asleep," he amended hastily, knowing it was a very childish thing to ask his papa. But for the past few years that his papa had been the Dark One, and he had never really felt safe around him. Yes, he knew his papa would never hurt him, but he'd seen what the power of the Dark One could do to other people. Now Rumpelstiltskin was back, the Rumpelstiltskin without the shiny skin who wouldn't hurt anyone, and Bae was safe.

Rumpel's face was grim, but his eyes were shining with happiness at his son's request.

"Of course, Bae," he answered sweetly, turning off the light by the door. Bae flinched. It was going to take him a while to get used to that. Hadn't the Blue Fairy promised that this world didn't have magic? Rumpel came forward and sat on the bed next to his son. Bae snuggled up against him and closed his eyes, falling asleep rather quickly, his head leaning against Rumpel's thigh.

There was the matter of how Rumpel was going to explain all this to his son. He had been able to evade Bae's questions earlier when the prospect of food and sleep had proved greater excitement, but he knew Bae's curiosity would not be put off forever. But before Rumpel had gotten too into details, his son had asked where he might sleep.

Rumpel smiled and picked him up in his arms, carrying him bridal style to one of the many spare rooms in his mansion. Rumpel had found his son surprisingly light and wondered worriedly if he had been feeding the boy enough in the Enchanted Forest. Bae had certainly never complained that Rumpel could think of.

Rumpel stroked his son's hair and smiled softly as Bae's breathing slowly evened out and he fell asleep. He looked so peaceful in his sleep, his muscles relaxed and face calm. Ah, Rumpel had missed his boy. But the missing was over now. His son had returned.

He could lie and say that they had come through the bean portal together, but even though Bae hadn't met most of the fairy tale characters in Storybrooke, he had met the Blue Fairy, and Rumpel didn't want Bae to discover that his papa had lied to him. He wasn't about to do anything to make his son hate him as much as Neal had hated him.

Leaning down, Rumpel kissed his son's forehead. "I love you, Bae," he whispered out hoarsely, thinking on the many nights he had never been able to say it, knowing that now his son believed him, surely. Then he turned and walked out of the room, shutting the door softly behind him.

He was completely enveloped in green, surrounding him, choking him, whirling about in circles and pulling him down with it. His skin was covered in a sheen of sweat. He was shaking all over, and an overwhelming grief filled him for a reason he couldn't understand. He was screaming, crying out for help, and somehow his scream turned into a word. "Papa!"

Bae jerked awake, still shaking and gasping for breath. He sat up straight in bed, clutching to the blankets tightly. The cry came out again, and Bae was unable to curb it. "Papa!"

The door to his room burst open and Rumpel rushed in, quickly kneeling by his son's side. "Shh, shh, Bae, it's all right. I'm here. It's all right." He wrapped an arm around Bae's thin shoulders and held him against his chest, brushing hair out of his face to calm him, like he used to do when Bae was little and had nightmares.

He didn't normally have nightmares. He had them right after Milah had left, but they had soon gone away and never came back.

When Bae's fears finally subsided, he glanced up at his papa and blinked a few times, pulling back.

"You all right, Bae?" Rumpel asked softly. Bae nodded, suddenly feeling embarrassed. "You want to talk about it?"

Bae shook his head.

"It might help," Rumpel suggested. Bae shook his head stubbornly.

"All right," Rumpel sighed. He rubbed Bae's back and then stood. "Good night, Bae. I'll be in just the other room. Call if you need me." He started walking towards the door, then turned back towards Bae, hand lifted halfway in the air in a way that made his son flinch. "Do you want me to leave a light?"

_All magic comes with a price_. The familiar sing-song voice filled his mind and Bae grimaced. "Yes, papa."

Bae was expecting Rumpel to use magic, to light a candle with his finger or something, but then he remembered that Rumpel didn't have magic in this world, and he gave a small grin as Rumpel turned on a small nightlight by the head of the bed.

"That better?" he asked, turning to Bae and straightening up again. Bae nodded.

"'Night papa," he called as Rumpel limped out of the room and shut the door behind him. Then he turned on his side and stared intently at the blood reddish nightlight until he fell asleep. That night, he dreamed of blood.

Bae awoke the next morning with a splitting headache. He yawned, pulling his legs over the side of the bed and reaching for the robe that always hung by his bed...then he remembered. He wasn't in his bed anymore; he was in a place called Storybrooke with his papa, who was no longer the Dark One. Or, at least, Bae assumed he was no longer the Dark One. The Blue Fairy had promised he wouldn't be, but papa didn't seem to trust the Blue Fairy.

Then again, papa didn't trust anyone.

Walking across the room in the pajamas Rumpel had found for him, Bae opened the door and experienced a moment of terror. The hallway in front of him seemed to go on forever.

"Papa?' he called out, face flushing in embarrassment at the tremor in his voice.

His papa instantly appeared, and Bae found that a bit suspicious. "Baelfire," his papa smiled at him, and Bae filed his fear away immediately.

"You hungry?" Rumpel asked. He seemed...different. Not just his skin and the return of the limp, but something else about him. Off.

Bae nodded, his stomach growling even as Rumpel spoke. "Yes, papa."

"Do you want to change first?" Rumpel motioned to the pajamas.

Bae glanced down at the blue silken shirts and trousers his papa had given him. They were quite comfortable. "No, I'm fine. I have a bit of a headache, though."

"That is easily remedied," Rumpel said, a pain in his eyes at the thought that his boy was in pain. He wished he could just use magic to heal him, but he knew how Bae would react to that. He'd been struggling not to use magic ever since Bae had woken up. It was much harder to force himself not to around Bae than it had been around Belle. At least he could sneak a few spells in the middle of the night when he had promised Belle not to use magic anymore. If he did so now, Bae might see him and then how would he explain that?

Rumpel held out his arm and Bae hesitated for a moment. But then he reminded himself that Rumpel had chosen him over magic, that he really did love him. He stepped forward and Rumpel wrapped an arm around his thin shoulders.

They walked down the hallway together, to the kitchen, where Bae could smell breakfast waiting. He breathed in deep and grinned.

"Cake?" he asked, turning to his papa.

Rumpel's lip twitched, and the pain in his eyes disappeared. "Something better, from this world. You'll like it I think."

But Bae's mind was already on other things. "This is such a large house! How did we get it?"

Something behind Rumpel's eyes flashed. "We got it when we came through, son," he lied smoothly. Well, it wasn't a real lie. "Things are much better here."

Bae glanced up, his eyes hopeful. "Really? You mean...you really like it here? You don't miss it...back home?"

Rumpel led them into the kitchen, then suddenly turned and bent down in front of his son, leaving the food cooking on the stove. It looked interesting, and Bae had to pry his gaze away from it to concentrate on what his papa was saying.

"Bae, you don't need to ask that," his papa said, his voice soft. He took Bae's hand. "I'll be happy as long as I'm with you. It doesn't matter where we are, as long as we're a family because I love you. I didn't understand that...before, back in our world, but now I do. You're the most important thing in my life, son."

Bae swallowed, unsure at the lump in his throat. "I love you too, papa."

Rumpel smiled enigmatically. "I know, son. Now, why don't we get something to eat and do something about that headache of yours, yes?"

Bae nodded, sitting down at the dining table while Rumpel walked over to the stove and put the brown, fluffy things on two plates, and then put the yellow things next to them and doused most of both plates in syrup. Bae recognized the syrup because they used to have it in his oatmeal back home. He wrinkled his nose at the memory. He'd always hated oatmeal.

Rumpel explained that the fluffy things, which were a golden brown, were pancakes, and yellow were omelets, which were like eggs except better, and with more inside them.

Rumpel came back and put Bae's plate and a glass of milk in front of him, sitting down across from his son. He leaned his cane against the back of his chair. Then he handed Bae a small white pill. Bae stared at it with suspicion. "It's a pill, Bae," Rumpel explained. "You swallow it down with the milk and your headache will go away."

"It's not..." Bae struggled for a moment, holding the pill tightly between his fingers. "Magic, is it?"

Rumpel blanched. "No, of course not. It's something from this world, and this is a land with very little magic."

Bae had lifted the glass of milk, and the rim was touching his mouth, but he set it back down at these words. "The Blue Fairy lied to me, then," he glanced down at his plate, suddenly not very hungry.

"Bae?" his father's concerned face filled his vision as he lifted his face.

"She told me that this was a land without magic." He glanced up. "Will you tell me what happened now, Papa? What's going on? How come I don't remember coming through the portal? The last thing I remember is you promising you'd come through with me, and now we're here and it seems like we've been here a while, but I don't remember any of it!"

Rumpel took a bite of his pancake, taking a deep breath. This was going to be difficult to explain. He glanced up at his son. If he told Bae the truth, that Bae had been here for a very long time and Rumpel had turned him into a fourteen year old for a second chance at their life together, there would have been no point to all this. But he wasn't sure he could lie to him, either. He didn't want to lie to Bae. He had only done so once before, and that was the night Milah had run off with that pirate. He remembered telling Bae she was dead, because he couldn't tell him the truth. He was too much of a coward.

"Well, Bae, it was...when she told you about it, a land without magic. But things have changed since then. You see," he swallowed hard. "We did come through the portal together, a little while ago. But we weren't the only ones. There was an evil queen who found out about this world and decided to follow us here."

"This evil queen used a different portal and forced everyone from our world to come to this one soon after we came here. You see, she wanted everyone to be miserable, because there was no magic here."

Bae blinked. "I don't see how getting rid of magic would make anyone miserable. I'm happy it's gone."

Rumpel glanced down at his right hand, which was holding his fork and shaking hard. He hadn't used magic in a whole day and he wasn't sure how much longer he would last. "Yes, well, anyways, the evil queen brought a lot of people from our land here. You probably won't recognize them, but the Blue Fairy came here, too."

Bae couldn't help but notice the way Rumpel's voice hardened and his lips drew into a fine line when he mentioned the Blue Fairy. "The evil queen managed to bring a bit of the magic from our world to this one, though it works differently here. As you can see," he gestured to himself and Bae nodded, barely able to contain his smile. "You and I live in this house, and people mostly don't bother us." He didn't bother to explain why. "You were hurt recently, Bae. You hit your head very hard." He didn't explain how. "We've been here for a while, Bae."

"Not more than a year, though," Bae argued, looking down at himself. He looked much the same as he remembered. He took a bite of the delicious pancake and then looked up at his father again. "I'm still fourteen, right?"

"Yes, yes," Rumpel held up his hand, signaling for Bae to let him continue. "But you were hurt recently, Bae, and that's why you have such a bad headache." He was desperate now. He knew this whole tale he was weaving sounded terrible. He hadn't even felt this guilty when he had lied to Bae about his mother. "You hit your head very hard, and that's why you can't remember all of this. But don't worry; you will remember it all soon enough. And then everything will make sense again. Now, why don't we-,"

Before he could finish, there was a loud pounding on the door, and then the doorbell rang. Baelfire jumped as the sound resonated throughout the whole house.

Rumpel sighed. Whoever this was had better have a very good reason to interrupt him now. It had better be about Belle.

The pounding grew more persistent. Rumpel groaned and stood up. "Eat your breakfast, Bae, and take that pill. I'll be back in a moment." He noticed the fearful look on Bae's face. "It's just the bell, Bae. It means someone's at the door. I'll take care of it."

Bae nodded and picked up the fork, stabbing it into his pancake and attempting to lift the whole thing up to his mouth. It fell from his hands and back onto the plate. Rumpel started to say something, but then the doorbell rang harder and, grinding his teeth in irritation, he picked up his cane and limped into the front room to answer it.

He could see the figure of the person outside, but he couldn't tell who it was. The bell rang again.

Rumpel stopped outside the door, eyes flashing with annoyance. "I'm getting it, dearie," he muttered. Then he pushed open the door and was face to face with Emma, just about the last person he had expected-or wished-to see.

"Emma." They stared at each other, Rumpel's eyes genuinely confused, Emma's radiating her anger. She pushed her long hair over her shoulder and continued to glower.

"Is there something you wish to talk to me about, Miss Swan? I am a bit busy, at the moment," he snapped coldly after a solid minute of silence. He hoped Bae stayed in the kitchen and ate his food. It would be very awkward if Miss Swan saw him.

When she finally spoke, her words shaking with her anger, her eyes had lost a bit of their steam. "You made Mary Margaret kill Cora," she accused.

Rumpel opened the door a little wider, but Emma made no attempt to come in. He sighed and took a step forward. "Still calling her that, Miss Swan?"

"What?" Then Emma's face flushed as she realized what he meant. "She's been Mary Margaret a lot longer for me."

Rumpel just rolled his eyes. "Was there a reason for this visit, Miss Swan, or did you just come here to tell me that you're angry Mary Margaret saved us all?"

"I...No, you don't get to turn this around like that! You weren't trying to be a hero, Mr. Gold. You convinced Mary Margaret to kill Cora in order to save your own skin! And now she's so freaked out about it she won't leave her bed."

"Remind me, Miss Swan, if Mary Margaret hadn't gotten the candle to take Cora's heart for my life, Cora would have killed me and taken the dagger's power herself. Then you'd have a much bigger problem than Mary Margaret feeling bad. So she did technically save the whole town. Am I right?"

Emma ground her teeth. "Where's Neal?" she demanded.

Mr. Gold blinked. "Excuse me?"

"No one's seen him since I left him with you at your shop. Where. Is. He?"

"I assumed he was with Henry," Gold said coolly. "He didn't seem very happy to see either of us." He thought he noticed a tint of jealousy in Emma's eyes when he said Henry's name and not her own.

"What about Regina?"

"What about her? So long as she isn't around, I don't think you have much to complain about, Miss Swan. Besides, I'd have thought she'd be with-,"

"Don't even. I would never let Regina around my son after what she just tried to do. I don't believe you, Mr. Gold. You must know where one of them is."

"I'm very flattered, Miss Swan, but being the Dark One doesn't mean I know everything. This is our first real talk since New York."

"Well, you've been quite incapacitated since then," Emma said, her head spinning at the change in conversation. "You don't know where Neal is?" her expression softened, and she suddenly looked very worried.

Rumpel shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Miss Swan. Now, if you will excuse me, I was just sitting down to breakfast-,"

"You're not worried?" There was suspicion in her voice.

"Pardon?"

"Well, if my son was missing, I think I'd be a bit more worried, especially if I'd waited so long to get him back."

She'd caught him. Rumpel hastened to pull himself out of the lie. "He may have left, Miss Swan. This is a place filled with magic and if there's one thing my son hates, it's magic. You'll remember he only came at all because of Hook. He wasn't planning on leaving New York before then."

"He wouldn't have left without saying goodbye," Emma snapped in fury. Then again, he might have...After all, wasn't that how it happened before? Not only had he left her without saying goodbye, but he'd left her pregnant and with stolen watches without saying goodbye. She'd thought Neal had changed, especially after seeing him with Henry. Emma sighed. "Can't you do whatever you did before to find him again?"

Rumpel's brow furrowed. He noticed the way Emma glanced over his shoulder and her eyes widened. Grimacing, he slowly turned around, following her gaze.

Baelfire finished his pancake and omelet and still his papa didn't return to the kitchen. He sat there for a few moments longer, until he heard raised voices. He couldn't understand what they were saying, but one of them was a woman's and she sounded very angry. Was it the evil queen Rumpel had spoken about?

Getting up, Bae crept out of the kitchen and down the hallway, making his way towards the voices. He finally came to a halt just inside the front room. His papa was standing at the door, talking quietly but angrily to a young, blonde woman standing just outside. She was dressed in leather, but it looked like it had been painted red. Her face barely masked her fury.

"He wouldn't have left without saying goodbye!" she snapped at his papa. "Can't you do whatever you did before to find him again?"

Bae blinked. Who was _he_ and how did this woman expect his papa to find _him_? He started to go back to the kitchen, knowing he probably shouldn't be here, when suddenly the blonde woman turned and looked right at him. Her eyes stared at him, angry and confused.

Bae stared back at her. His papa turned around and his eyes widened as he saw Baelfire in the doorway, wondering how much of this he had heard. But Bae wasn't paying any attention to him. He was staring at the blonde woman in something like shock, his mind churning, wildly trying to explain to him why, when he looked at the blonde woman, he recognized her. He didn't remember ever seeing her in his life before.

Suddenly, an image of this woman, who looked a lot older than him, spat up in front of him, and he staggered backward. Rumpel glared at the woman, and then left her in the doorway, slamming the door shut in her face and rushing to his son's side.

"Are you all right? Bae?" his papa cried, squatting down beside him and reaching for him. Bae didn't respond. "Bae!"

The image-the memory-wouldn't leave Baelfire's mind. As his papa held him close and whispered to him, Bae didn't hear a word he said. All he could see was the image that kept playing, over and over again, in hid mind. The blonde woman, leaning towards him, a big smile on her face. Then she kissed him. But why would she be kissing him? She was obviously much older than him. And who was she?

"Bae?" his father's voice finally got through to him. "Bae!"

"Papa," Bae whimpered. "That woman...who was she?"

Rumpelstiltskin decided then that he hated true love. _It could break any curse..._

"I...I remember her. Sort of. I remember her face." He glanced up at his papa. "That's good, right? It means I'm starting to remember things again."


	3. Complications

A/N: Happy New Year everyone! Thank you for all the reviews, follows, and favs! Sorry this took so long.

Disclaimer: If I owned Once Upon a Time, what happened in the Mid-Winter finale would NOT have happened!

**Flashback **

Rumpelstiltskin sat at his wheel, spinning, in quiet thought in the main room of his castle. The light from the curtains the serving girl had insisted on opening shown down on his sparkling, golden face, illuminating the sadness found there. Today was the day. The day the world of the Enchanted Forest ended for Rumpelstiltskin, all those years ago. He found no pleasure in being here now. Nothing about it, or its magic, interested him anymore.

The tiny hand, clutching tightly to his own. "PAPA!" the scream as his only son, his only companion in the world who loved him, fell down into the swirling portal. The fright in his eyes that quickly turned to anger as he realized his papa had purposely let go of him, to keep the magic. Then the portal swallowed him up and he was gone.

Rumpelstiltskin heaved a sigh and the string he was spinning turned into a long thread of gold, falling gently into the basket sitting below him. There were two days a year that Rumpelstiltskin allowed himself to mourn for his foolishness: this day and Baelfire's birthday.

He heard the doors, which were really more like gates, grinding open, heard footsteps approaching, but Rumpelstiltskin did not bother to turn around. He made no deals today. And the serving girl wouldn't bother him. Surely she knew better by now. She let out a soft, humming sound as she came forward and the doors clanged loudly behind her. For a brief moment he wondered how such a little creature could shut those heavy doors on her own.

"If you have to dust in this room while I'm present, stay silent," Rumpelstiltskin barked, hands still on the string though his foot had stopped peddling the wheel.

"Dust, Rumpel? Why would I dust this room? It's already shining, and besides, I think you have servants for that." Regina's chilly, taunting voice made him cringe. He did not turn to face her, but started spinning again. He didn't care to look at her today. The very sight of her, in her ugly black dresses, might make him vomit on a day like this.

"I don't make deals today. You know this. Go away." He stared out the window, eyes glazed over, not blinking as his hands and foot worked automatically. Behind him, he could feel Regina moving about, examining the treasures he kept in this room alone. She'd seen them all before. They were in their customary spots. There were other treasures, in other rooms, but she wasn't allowed in other rooms anymore. And none of the other rooms had mirrors.

Regina's laughter sounded like metal scraping. She used that sing-song voice she always used when she was teasing. "Someone's not happy today." Then her voice turned hard again. "But I didn't come to make any deals with you, Rumpelstiltskin. I thought the last one we made would finish that practice between us forever."

Rumpelstiltskin did not answer her, but the slightest smirk touched his lips at that statement, for a reason she couldn't possibly understand. "Then why are you here, dearie?"

"I came to check up on you. Have you finished it yet?" her voice betrayed her excitement, like a small child on their...birthday. The thought got rid of any happiness he might have felt about being one step ahead of her, and only reminded him of why he didn't want any visitors today.

Swallowing hard, Rumpelstiltskin turned around, not bothering to stand up from his seat. "No, and if you keep coming here and bothering me about it, dearie, I'll just give it to Maleficent." In a softer voice he added, "I didn't want to see you today."

"I guess I just don't understand why you're sitting around here moping and not working on my curse," the evil queen ground out, horrified by his threat. "Are you almost done? I could help, if you're having such a hard time about it."

Rumpelstiltskin laughed, but without humor. "You don't have the power for that. It's why you needed me to make it for you in the first place. I'm working on the memory part of it right now, if you must know. Adding that to the overall curse is difficult. It's not a simple reversing spell where you turn the subjects back a few years, and it's difficult. You don't need to know the details." He waved his hand in his trademark fashion.

"The memories. Tell me about them," Regina demanded, smiling cruelly at the idea of Snow not being able to remember her, and sitting down on his dining table. Rumpelstiltskin grimaced. He stood up and walked over to the shelves where he kept his potions. He hadn't really wanted to look at any of them today. He was afraid he might break them. Watching Regina out of the corner of his eye, he picked up one of the bottles and shook it a little. He was still missing an important element.

"The people affected by your curse will have no memory of who they were in this world. But not to worry, because they won't be trying to remember them. They will be replaced by fake memories, of their boring lives in the new world, the world where none of them will be able to have a happy ending. You alone will know the truth, and remember this place." Rumpel glanced around in disdain. "Their memories will feel real to them, and so they won't question them. Ah, and in this world, the memories will not fade like a simple reversing spell, with something as crude as true love's kiss. They will have these memories forever, and all the memories will be of your choosing, Your Majesty." The last two words were spoken sarcastically.

Regina grinned at the power she would soon have over Snow White. It was worth it, everything she had paid to get to this moment. "Good. I suppose that is enough to satisfy me for today. But get to work on it, Rumpel-I'm impatient."

Rumpelstiltskin ignored her and turned back to his spinning as if she weren't even there. When he finally heard the gates clanging shut behind her, he let a small smile cover his face. "So long as the curse is not broken."

**End of Flashback**

"Papa?" Bae's voice was worried, bringing Rumpel out of his reverie. He turned to his son, trying to focus on him. Bae was still lying on the ground, his knees in the air, a look between happiness and fear on his face. "What's wrong? Isn't it good that I'm starting to remember?"

Rumpel sighed. "Yes, Bae, very good." Even preoccupied with the return of one of his memories and the confusion this brought him, Bae could tell there was something wrong with his papa. He was paying very little attention to what Bae was saying, his mind far off. His eyes, no longer flecked with gold, studied Bae, but didn't really see him.

"So who is she?" Bae couldn't keep the curiosity out of his voice. He was staring at his papa's eyes, waiting for the gold flecks to return, waiting for his skin to grow hard and golden every second after seeing him that way for a year, but it didn't happen and Bae forced himself to relax. His papa had tried so hard to change for Bae, and he couldn't even accept it. What was wrong with him?

His papa didn't answer. Instead, he picked up his cane, which he had thrown out of the way when he hurried to his son's side, and slowly stood up, leaning heavily against the wall for support. Then he took Bae's hand and pulled him to his feet. Bae stood a little shakily, blinking.

"Let's go finish breakfast, Bae," he said finally, after standing there holding onto Bae's hand and staring at it for the longest time, as if he thought it might turn to dust in his grip.

It was the first time Bae realized how hard this must be for his papa. A new world, without magic, after spending a year as the Dark One who could have whatever he wanted. He'd given it all up for his son, and Bae knew that he must be struggling now. He was weak again, his leg limping like it always used to, and there was a fear in his eyes. But what was he afraid of? They were obviously rich here, with this huge palace, and so far no one had tried to hurt them. They didn't magic here. They were better off without it, and his papa had said he was happy without it. So why was he still afraid?

When they returned to the kitchen, Rumpel sat down at his place at breakfast and started eating again. Bae nibbled at the remainder of his breakfast. Neither one spoke until the meal was gone. Rumpel folded his hands on the table and squinted at Bae in worry. Bae felt like he was being studied. Why was his papa being so serious about this? Who was the woman to inspire such fear in his papa?

"Is she the evil queen?" Bae finally blurted, unable to stand the silence for a moment longer.

Rumpel chuckled, but it sounded a bit pained. He picked up his glass and drank from it slowly, measuring his words carefully before answering. _At least I don't have to lie about that_. "No, Bae. That woman's name is Swan. Emma Swan. She's a...neighbor. You know that the other people from the Enchanted Forest came through?" His voice was strained.

Bae nodded, leaning innocently closer to listen, and causing the guilt in his father to well up.

"She's the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming." He watched his son carefully for a reaction, and when he got none, breathed a sigh of relief. He still had his son. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all. "What did you remember about her? It is good that you are remembering, Bae, I just...well, she and I don't exactly see eye to eye on everything."

Bae blushed a little as he thought of the memory, and suddenly he felt awkward discussing this in front of his father. "I remember...I remember her kissing me," he finally said, quickly looking down at his hands so he didn't have to see his father's reaction. "On the forehead," he quickly added.

It was a good thing he didn't. Rumpel paled, the blood draining from his face. He glanced down at the hand holding his cane, fist tightening so hard around it the knuckles looked as though they might crack. Anger and fear rushed through him, anger at Emma for showing up so soon after he got his second chance with Bae, fear that this wouldn't last much longer. _True Love's Kiss..._ "Is that the only memory you have, Bae?" he asked softly.

Bae glanced up. "Yes, papa. The only thing I can remember since I came home with the bean and talked you into using it with me." For a reason he couldn't understand, Bae didn't mention the nightmare last night, about his papa letting go of his hand. Surely, it was only that; a nightmare. After all, the proof was right in front of him.

Rumpel blinked. "Ah. I see. Are you done with your breakfast?" he hurried to change the subject. Bae nodded, pushing the plate away from himself.

"Good." Rumpel picked up the plates and limped over to the kitchen sink, depositing them there and then turning to face his son. The boy looked up at him, concern in his eyes, his long, dark bangs falling in front of his face. He needed a haircut. "There's one thing I forgot to tell you, Bae." He felt horrible even thinking it, but he forced himself to continue. "When we came through, I was...given, a shop. Where I sell very old things. Junk, mostly."

Bae shrugged. His papa had always liked to collect the junk of his victims, he reasoned, so it was rather the perfect fit. "Yeah?"

"I have to go to work today, Bae. You can't come with me." There was no way he was bringing Bae to the shop. He might recognize some of the items as belonging to a few deals Rumpel had made. How would he explain that? "You can stay home and..." he tried to think of something Bae could do that would occupy him for most of the day. Rumpel might be gone a long time.

"Here." He motioned for Bae to follow him, and walked into the living room. A large bookcase filled the long wall; before Belle had taken over the library, Rumpel had made it for her. Rumpel smiled. Perfect. He turned to find Bae staring at it.

"So many books," he said, a little awe in his voice. He stepped forward and ran his fingers along the spines, in much the same way Belle had done.

"Yes," Rumpel agreed, turning to look at the shelf. "Entertain yourself with them until I get back. Can I trust you not to get into any trouble?"

Bae turned around, a thick leather book already in his hand. "Trouble?" he echoed.

Rumpel smirked. "You are not to leave the house. Or answer the door if that bell goes off or anyone knocks again. The people in this town are less than friendly, and most of them sympathize with the evil queen. They might say horrible things to turn you against me." That last sentence was harder to say than the rest of it, but Rumpel had to ensure that his son didn't talk to anyone.

Bae nodded. He knew his papa was overly paranoid, but he wouldn't talk to anyone if that was what his papa wanted. Papa had done so much for him, by giving up magic. "Yes, papa."

"I'll make you a lunch and leave it on the kitchen table," Rumpel continued as if he hadn't even heard. "Don't try to make anything by yourself; you might burn the house down. But I will be home for supper, so don't worry about that."

Bae nodded again. Suddenly, his papa came forward and wrapped his arms around Bae, pulling him into a tight embrace. Bae jumped a little in surprise, and then calmed, leaning into his papa's chest and closing his eyes. His papa still smelled of wool and oil, even in this world, and something about the smell had a calming affect on his son.

"Bae," his papa whispered into his hair. "I love you, son."

"Love you too, papa," Bae said, feeling a bit embarrassed but at the same time secretly pleased. It had been such a long time since his papa had hugged him.

He had no idea.

When Rumpel finally pulled away, he seemed reluctant to let go of Bae. He ran a hand through Bae's hair. "You sure you'll be all right?" he asked finally.

Bae nodded, grinning. "I'll be fine, papa. See you for supper." He wondered what his papa was so worried about. He supposed that this was a new world fraught with danger they didn't understand, but Rumpel had left him home alone plenty of times before.

Rumpel nodded, walking into the kitchen as Bae settled himself down with a book, remembering the last time he had left someone home alone with instructions not to leave the house. He flinched, glad that at least this time Hook was far away. But he had to go to the shop today. He had no other choice. He needed to figure out why Bae was beginning to remember things so quickly, and how to put a stop to it.

He fixed Bae's lunch and then put on a trench coat and grabbed his cane, walking out the front door. No one was in the street this morning. He glanced around in suspicion, then turned and locked the front door behind him and slipped the key into his coat pocket. He stepped lightly down into the street and began the short walk to his shop.

ǁ

Emma opened the door to the apartment and walked inside, shutting the door quietly behind her so as not to disturb Mary Margaret, still trying to figure out just what had happened back there. Mr. Gold knew more than he was letting on; her skills with telling whether or not people were lying had kicked in at the last moment, just as he was slamming the door in her face. She knew he was lying to him. But about what? If he was keeping Neal locked up somewhere, surely something would have turned up by now. But nothing had. Maybe Gold was right, and Neal really had left without saying goodbye.

David was standing behind the counter, making a late breakfast that smelled delicious. Emma stepped forward, enjoying the scent. Henry was sitting at the counter, sipping hot chocolate with whipped cream and cinnamon. He glanced up when Emma entered, and motioned for her to stay quiet.

Emma glanced at Mary Margaret, still lying in bed. She sighed. Mary Margaret was going to have to get up sometime, and she wasn't going to stay quiet just because Mary Margaret was feeling bad. She loved her, but she couldn't sit around here moping forever.

"What's for breakfast, David?" she asked loudly, making both Henry and David flinch. "It smells delicious."

"Emma," David hissed. "Shh."

Emma rolled her eyes and came forward, sitting down at a stool and taking the coffee he handed her. "She can't stay in bed forever, David."

"Just give her time, Emma." His eyes were pleading, glancing between her and his wife.

"We may not have it," Emma snapped suddenly. "Neal has gone missing."

She had meant to say this with a lot more tact, and without Henry in the room, but she failed on both ends. Henry gasped and David blinked rapidly.

"What?"

"No one's heard from him or seen him since Regina disappeared with Cora." Emma ground her teeth, taking a long gulp of the hot coffee and then sputtering a little at how hot it was.

"You mean since he stayed behind to talk to Mr. Gold," David's voice was very accusing.

Emma nodded, not even wanting to voice her fears. She knew Gold would never hurt his son, just like Regina would never hurt hers, but there were countless things he could do if he thought it was helping his son. An image of Gold, beating old Mr. French with his cane in that old cabin flashed through her mind and she swallowed down another sip of coffee.

"Well, we'd better look for him," David announced suddenly.

Henry swallowed. "You think something bad happened to him?" He tried to keep the worry out of his tone, but Emma caught it anyways. She wrapped an arm around him.

"I'm sure he's fine, Henry," she told him. "Now why don't you and I go down to Granny's or something and see if anyone's seen him around there?" She'd already checked there. She couldn't really think of anywhere else to check, except maybe the Rabbit Hole. There weren't really any other places where people hung out. "Or the park."

ǁ

Rumpel hurried to his shop, not wanting to leave Bae alone a moment longer than necessary. When he reached the door, he juggled with his keys, unlocked it, and stepped inside. The familiar little bell rang over his head. The door slammed shut behind him. He waved a hand and the lock clicked.

It felt good to use magic again, if only for a moment.

Turning around, Rumpel quickly searched the shop. He had hidden the reversing spell in a place where it would never be found by accident. Pulling it out, he shook it a little, and the magical properties inside the tube began to glow. He didn't understand. The affects shouldn't have been wearing off this quickly. Yes, it was a reversing spell and those didn't last forever, but Bae shouldn't be remembering things so soon.

Emma. That had to be the explanation. True love was not that strong, that by simply looking at her Bae could start remembering. She had magic in her, even if she refused to see it, and her magic was jeopardizing his plan. If he wanted it to work, he had to make sure Emma stayed away from his son.

But who knew if that would even help? What if Bae just continued to remember things from now on? What if someone opened the door to his house and found Bae and told him the truth? No, Rumpel had to make sure there wasn't a chance in the world that Bae remembered.

And that was going to take something a bit more powerful than the reversing spell.

Rumpel paced back and forth in front of his counter for a moment, trying to figure out what to do, clutching the reversing spell in his left hand while his right clutched his cane. Then he realized what he needed, and hid the reversing spell back in its usual place and stopped pacing. He knew now what he had to do.

He then turned and walked out the door, slamming it shut behind him and locking it with shaking, hurried fingers. He ignored the young man who came up and asked if the shop was open today. Clearly, it wasn't. Then he turned and walked briskly towards the edge of town.

He was going to pay Regina's crypt a visit.


	4. Crypts and Magic Boxes

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, faves, and follows everybody! Please keep reviewing! About the books...I'm figuring they're all Belle's, so...

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Once Upon a Time. Sadly.

Rumpel sighed as he stood in front of the crypt in the middle of the eery cemetery. This was maybe the last place he wanted to be, but he was doing it for Bae, he reminded himself. All for Bae. And maybe a little bit for himself.

Rumpel walked forward and stood in front of the door of the crypt. Regina had her magic on it, ever since Henry had come down here alone, so that no one but she could enter. Rumpel waved a hand and the magic barrier was gone. He pressed forward and opened the huge, heavy door, stepping lightly into the crypt.

His footsteps were nearly silent on the stone steps, but still he was nervous. There were mirrors down here, and Rumpel of all people knew what she could do with mirrors. He tried to remind himself that she would be too busy plotting to get Henry back and mourning her mother to worry about guarding her crypt and stepped further inside.

That was when he saw the coffin, displayed in the middle of the main room. He stopped, frozen, staring at it as a dozen emotions played across his face.

Cora. She had been laid out, and the coffin was still open. There was a rose in her hand, and the preserving spell that Regina had put over her made Rumpel, for a moment, think Cora was still alive, only sleeping, and would wake up at any second.

He walked up to the coffin and stood in front of it, staring down at her. He tried to see the beautiful, stubborn young woman he had given his heart to in the wrinkled, evil lady before him, but all he could see was himself, standing over her, healed and whole, while Regina cried.

She had ripped out her heart, and he had returned it to her. He had restored balance to the universe. But as he looked at her now, he couldn't help feeling a bit guilty for his part in her death. Not that he blamed himself entirely. Mary Margaret, after all, had been the one to technically kill her, and if she hadn't, Rumpel would be dead.

And he would never get that second chance with his son.

Reminded of why he was here, Rumpel turned and limped out of the room, down the hallway to where Regina kept the spell he was looking for. She'd hidden it, he knew, because of how powerful it was, and as a reminder of her failure.

Rumpel would not fail with it.

The spell seemed very simple to look at. It was just a small scroll, small enough to fit in Rumpel's hand, locked in a safe behind one of Regina's many mirrors. But it was worth the world to Rumpel in that moment. He pulled the mirror out of the wall and shoved it aside, gaze intent on the hole in the wall behind it.

The safe was small and silver. Rumpel pulled it out of the wall and set it down on the floor, sinking down on the floor beside it and resting his cane against the wall. The safe was locked, but Rumpel soon remedied that with a wave of his hand. The lock broke and clattered to the floor, much louder than Rumpel had expected. He jerked his head up and glanced around, then decided that was silly. No one was around to hear him.

He lifted the lid of the safe slowly, as if afraid something would jump out of it and bite him, and there it was, lying in velvet cloth. Gingerly, Rumpel pulled it out and held it up to the light, to make sure Regina had not switched it with a fake. Satisfied, he unraveled it and studied the words carefully. The spell for new memories. He had created it during his making of the curse that brought them all here. It had been a necessary ingredient. How fitting.

That was when he heard the door to the crypt loudly slide open on rusty hinges. He was no longer alone.

Hurriedly pocketing the scroll, Rumpel lowered the lid on the safe and replaced the lock. He stood, grabbing his cane, and shoved the safe back into the hole in the wall, slamming the mirror back into place.

There was only one way out, and that was the way he had come. Sighing in annoyance, Rumpel started back towards the coffin. He arrived there only moments after Regina. Forcing himself to look unconcerned, Rumpel stepped in the room.

"Black always was your color," he said neutrally.

Regina's head came up. The coffin had been closed since he'd been in here. She was holding onto it for dear life, a single, solitary tear slipping down her marble cheek. Her eyes hardened when she saw Mr. Gold. How dare he come in here!

"What are you doing here?" she demanded suspiciously, glancing behind him as if she expected some creature at his disposal to come running out and attack her.

Rumpel flinched. His hand involuntarily went to the memory spell in his pocket. It came back with a rose that hadn't been there before. "I came to pay my respects," he heard himself say.

Regina snorted at this news.

ǁ

Baelfire had promised not to leave the house or talk to anybody if they came to the door, but he was getting bored. Reading had never really been something Bae was interested in, and these books were worse than anything Bae had ever read. They were girl books. Why did his papa have these sort of books? He couldn't imagine his papa reading them.

He was bored. He'd stayed inside for a whole two hours, like his papa had told him to, but papa hadn't returned yet and Bae suddenly remembered another time, a time when he had been told to stay home by himself and his papa wouldn't be back for a while. A time when his papa had gone off to exact revenge for one of his many deals gone foul...

No. Things were different now. Papa was different now. Surely, he had just gone to that shop where he sold old things, like he had promised. He would be back soon. Bae just needed to sit tight.

Sighing, he set the book aside. There was no use; it was about a princess going on an adventure to find her prince and Baelfire was never going to get into it.

He glanced around, searching for something else with which to occupy his time. There was a large, strange looking box hanging from the wall, but otherwise the room was quite empty of any interesting objects. Standing up from the sofa he'd been reclining in for the past hour and a half, he walked over to the metal box and stared at it for a long moment, trying to decipher what it was supposed to do.

"Mirror mirror?" he stated tentatively, bracing himself in case anything were to happen. He squeezed his eyes shut. When he finally opened them again, he found that his words had done nothing to change the state of the box.

That was when he noticed the buttons on the bottom rim of the metal box. Curious, he stepped forward and touched one of them. He jerked his hand back as if he thought the box was going to bite him, but then it did something much more frightening.

It blared to life, loud and bright in the silent room, screeching out sound and letting loose a torrent of shapes and colors that made Bae's head throb. He backed up a few steps, shocked. Tripping over a book that he'd left lying haphazardly on the ground, Bae fell to the ground and landed on his back. Propping himself up on his elbows, Baelfire winced at the sudden pain in his ankle. Long bangs fell in his face and he brushed them away, turning wide eyes on the black box.

There was a human in the black box. What sorcery was this? The human was speaking, too. Well, actually, the human was uttering long, guttural sounds that seemed like screams. Was it being tortured? There were loud cymbals clanging behind the human, and the beat of drums. It took a few more minutes for Bae to realize that this unearthly sound was supposed to be _music._ He recognized it only by the strange looking instrument in the background that vaguely resembled a banjo. Flinching, Bae crept forward until he was just under the magic box.

He pressed the same button he had pressed before. The human, the drums, and the banjo-like instrument-as well as the horrible scream song-vanished in a flash of white light before the magic box went still and black again. Bae stared in astonishment. He touched the button again, and the magic box flared to life, showing the screamers once more.

Then he pressed another button on the magic box, and the screamers suddenly were gone, replaced by a young man standing at the edge of a hauntingly large forest, a hesitant look on his face. He was very short. He turned to another young man, standing behind him. "Ready?" the other nodded grimly. They started into the forest.

Bae settled down on the sofa to watch, intrigued and wondering just how many people were trapped inside the magic box. He watched until the sun had reached the middle of the sky, and he realized it was sometime around noon. Leaving the magic box on, he went into the kitchen were papa had prepared a lunch for him.

As he sat at the table eating the strange meal, a thought occurred to him. This new world must be filled with all sorts of adventures, just waiting to be discovered like the young man in the box was discovering them. It was much different from the Enchanted Forest, but the rules were still the same; he had to stay in the house, albeit a larger one, alone.

Well, Bae was getting tired of staying in the house all the time. He wanted to see what else made up this strange world without magic that he and his papa had paid so dearly for.

Scarfing down the rest of his food, Bae walked down the long hallway to the door where he had seen the woman and found his shoes, lying by the door. Slipping into them, he turned to the door and hesitated for the first time.

Papa had told him not to leave the house, that there were unspeakable dangers out there and he must wait here and not talk to anyone until Papa returned. He trusted papa, now that he had normal, soft skin and dark eyes. It was certainly dangerous, this world without magic. But wasn't that what Baelfire wanted, to have a world where there was no magic and people couldn't be hurt by it?

How much trouble could he get into, in a place where magic didn't exist?

Stubbornly, Bae pulled open the door and stepped out onto the stone porch just outside. A blast of cool air hit his face and he breathed in deeply, smiling. It was good to be outdoors again, under the sun. He took another step outside.

He would be back before papa returned, he told himself. And he just wouldn't talk to anyone if they tried to talk to him. There was nothing to worry about.


	5. Tabs and Culture Shock

Tabs and Culture Shock

A/N: I apologize for the long wait, but I've been having some health issues lately and I am back now. I made this one a bit longer to make up for it, though. A lot happens, too. Over 1,000 views! Yes! And thank you to all the guest/anonymous reviews since I'm not able to reply to them! Also, I've noticed a lack of reviews lately. Please keep reviewing; it encourages me to write more. So, without further ado...

Disclaimer: Nope, it's still not mine.

Emma sighed. It was no use. They had searched the park, Granny's inn, the Rabbit Hole (Henry had waited outside), and any other place that Neal might possibly go. Now she and Henry were back at Granny's Diner, where they had started. David and Mary Margaret had called sometime around noon and asked how the search was going. Emma said in a very curt voice, "Just meet us at Granny's for lunch."

Henry had been hoping they would find Neal here, but Emma knew it was too late. He was gone, and they probably wouldn't be seeing him again for another eleven years. She couldn't believe she'd been fool enough to actually trust him. Look where it had gotten her last time.

Looking back to when she had gone to see Mr. Gold about Neal's disappearance, she thought he was acting rather strange. He refused to acknowledge that he was worried about where Neal was, and had abruptly slammed the door in her face. She hadn't heard anything from him since. While she and Henry had been walking to Granny's, Emma noticed Mr. Gold walking into his own shop.

A horrible thought hit her then. Maybe Neal had told Mr. Gold he was leaving, had said goodbye. Maybe Mr. Gold knew Neal was long gone when she had come to see him and that was why he clammed up.

There were very few people in the diner this morning; Granny stood behind the bar, cooking up lunch for Leroy, Dr. Whale, and that man from the car accident who refused to leave town. Other people were seated at the tables, already eating.

Dr. Whale was sitting on a bar stool, staring appreciatively at Ruby as she walked in and grabbed her apron, yanking it over her head. She grabbed a notepad out of the apron pocket and turned around to face the customers.

Granny gave her a glare, considerably softened from the looks she used to give her granddaughter before the curse. "You're late."

"Yeah, sorry," Ruby muttered, not in the mood to talk about this. "Wolf thing. Woke up in some field and I had to walk all the way home."

Ruby walked over to Henry's usual table in the corner of the diner closest to the door, smiling brightly, memories of last night's full moon long forgotten.

She was wearing better clothes now that the curse was broken, Emma noticed, but always red. Today was no different. She sported a red sweater and red and white striped pants. Ruby pulled out a notepad and held her pen above it, waiting for the order.

"What'll it be?" she asked, and then saw the expression on Henry's face and her smile vanished. "What's the matter with him?" she stage whispered to Emma. Henry didn't even seem to notice, his eyes staring vacantly Emma was really not looking forward to the talk she knew she would have to have with him.

Emma sighed, rubbing her temples to alleviate some of the stress there. So far, Mary Margaret and David hadn't shown up yet, and she really wasn't appreciating their lateness. Even though she would never admit it, she did not want to handle this by herself. "I'll tell you later. I'll have a bagel and a coffee with whipped cream...and a sprinkle of cinnamon on the top."

Ruby smiled, quickly jotting that down on the little notepad. Then she turned to Henry.

The boy was staring off into space at the other end of the diner, and Emma followed his gaze. It was only the old picture of a wolf that had always hung there, and it couldn't have only caught his interest now.

"Kid!" Emma snapped her fingers in front of his face, bringing him back to reality with an apologetic smile to Ruby.

Henry jumped. "What-? Oh, sorry. I'll have the same thing. With hot chocolate."

Ruby stared at him for a moment, worried, but then sighed and jotted that down, calling out a "Coming right up," over her shoulder before disappearing to take the order of a particularly grumpy dwarf up at the bar.

When the food came back, Emma dug in, hungry after a full day of stressing over Neal's apparent abandonment once more. Henry didn't even pretend to pick at his food.

Emma sighed. She really didn't want to deal with this. Cursing Neal for leaving her again, for putting her in the situation where she had to pick up the pieces once more, she sipped at her hot chocolate and finished her bagel.

Henry jumped every time the door opened, turning expectantly as if Neal would walk inside at any moment like nothing was the matter.

Emma sighed, glancing hungrily at his bagel. "Kid, you gonna eat that?"

He glanced up. "What?"

Emma rolled her eyes, remembering a time when she would spend every second waiting for Neal to walk through that prison door and rescue her. She knew the pain Henry was going through right now, and the worst thing was, she didn't really know how to deal with it without breaking his heart. "All right, we need to talk."

Henry squirmed as the door bell dinged and a young couple walked in. He turned his attention back to Emma. "About what?"

Emma sighed in exasperation, setting aside her lunch. "Henry," she snapped at him, and he looked at, really looked at her, then. "I know this is hard for you to hear, kid, but Neal...your dad..." _Neal is gone. He's not coming back. Look how hard it was to find him the first time. You'll never see him again. __He only came because Mr. Gold was dying._

Henry stared at her with those wide, innocent eyes and she couldn't say it. She went back to eating her lunch, but Henry seemed to have perked up after her little attempt at a speech, something which surprised her, to say the least.

"Don't worry, Emma. We'll find him," his never-ending supply of faith, and that reassuring smile, unnerved her.

Emma swallowed. Perhaps it would simply be better to let Henry figure it out on his own. "Eat your lunch, kid."

ǁ

Baelfire stared at the huge buildings surrounding the street in awe. Never had he seen such large buildings before, except maybe a palace. Did everyone live in palaces here?

He was beginning to wonder what about this place his papa had found so threatening. He hadn't seen any people at all since leaving the house, and his papa had been so concerned about him running into somebody.

Everything was so different in this world. Even the roads were hard and completely stone instead of muddy dirt. There were strange markings on the road, and Bae wondered if they were some sort of code for something. He walked down the middle of the road, on the yellow dashes that seemed to lead him on a sort of path. Large poles stood on either side of the road, and there were strange, metal creatures that sometimes ran past him, but most just stood at attention off to the side.

One such metal contraption ran by a little too close, flapping Bae's clothes and nearly grazing him. A man stuck his head out of a hole in the creature and shouted, "Get out of the middle of the road!"

Bae stared at him in shock. There was actually a person in that metal creature? Was it eating him?

Those metal things kind of scared him, but everything else was so interesting, and he didn't think he'd have enough time to explore it all before he needed to get home. Papa would be unhappy if he discovered Bae had gone out when he'd told him to stay inside, but Bae figured he had a few hours yet. And besides; things were different here. Papa wasn't the Dark One anymore, so he couldn't actually get mad at Bae, could he?

He could never remember a time when Rumpelstiltskin the coward had ever been angry with him, no matter what he had done.

When Bae finally started seeing people milling about, the buildings had gotten smaller and closer together. They weren't walking down the middle of the road like he was though; they walked on the gray slabs pressing against the buildings beside the road. A few of them were even casting Bae and his clothes-still the same ones he had been wearing when he came through from the Enchanted Forest-strange looks.

He glanced down at his clothes self-consciously and then around at the people, realizing their clothes looked much different from his own. He would have to suggest new clothes to his papa when he got home.

There were signs on each of the buildings, big large letters describing what each building was, and eventually Bae caught on that he was in the market side of town, and each building sold a different product. This was much different from home, where everyone just lugged their wares in a cart behind them and cold to whomever was passing by.

He glanced at the shop names. Shoe store, clothing store of some sort, a store with a big fish on it, and a bakery. The sight of the bakery, or, more likely, the smell emanating from it caused Bae's mouth to water. The strange sandwich his papa had made for him had not been to Bae's liking; there was peanut butter on it and some sort of jam, but no meat. He was still hungry.

Screwing up his courage, Bae left the middle of the road and, with purposeful steps, entered the tiny bakery. There was barely anyone in there, only an older man shouting in a language Bae didn't understand, and then white flour flew into the air, hitting Bae's face and clothes.

The baker turned around to face him. "You, boy, what are you doing in here?" he demanded, his face red with anger, but it was hard to take him seriously with the dough clinging to his clothes and the white powder on his beard.

"I smelled the bread," Bae said, shuffling his feet. "I was wondering if...I could have some?"

The baker stared at him for a moment in shock, and then his face split into a grin. "The boy wants some bread!" he shouted in excitement. "Sure, sure, boy. He walked behind the counter. "What kind of bread do you want?"

Bae was not used to this sort of reaction. Whenever he had asked for something in the village of the Enchanted Forest, people eyed him warily, then looked around for his father, suspecting some trick. That alone proved to Bae that his father had really changed.

Bae was so lost in thoughts he wasn't really paying attention to the baker. "All those people usually go to that stupid diner for lunch. Well, my bread is as good as anything you're liable to get there."

Bae pointed to a loaf of cheese bread. "I'll have that," he suggested to the baker.

The baker picked it up, still smiling. He wrapped the bread carefully in wax paper and Bae's stomach growled. "My cheese bread is the best," the baker gloated, setting it on the counter. Bae reached out to take it, but found the baker's hand clench around the bread instead.

"That will be $3.75," the baker said coldly.

Bae blinked at him in confusion. "What?"

The baker rolled his eyes. "The bread is $3.75."

It had been so long since anyone had tried to charge Bae for something he wanted in the village. Everyone was too scared of his father, and gave him what he wanted for free. An image of his papa stepping on the snail entered Bae's mind, and he flinched.

But papa was different now, not evil anymore, and here people weren't afraid of him. If Bae wanted something, he would have to pay for it.

"I'm sorry. I don't have the money. Maybe my papa could-,"

The baker's eyes grew wide in fury when he heard these words. "Don't have the money?" he demanded. "Then what are you doing in my shop?" He suddenly rushed around the counter, grabbing Bae by the collar and dragging him towards the door, muttering as he went. "Wasting my precious time...little vagrant..."

He shoved Bae out the door, and the boy fell to the hard ground, too shocked to catch himself. The air was knocked out of him and he winced as his legs and bare hands hit the cement. "That will teach ya! Stay away from my bakery, you little thief!"

Baelfire slowly pulled himself to his feet and brushed himself off. His papa was right; his first encounter with a person from this land without magic had not been pleasant. He should have just stayed home like papa had told him.

Still, Bae was curious, and, despite his indecision, his curiosity won out and got the best of him. He recalled the baker saying something about a diner. Maybe there the people would be nicer and he could get some real food before going home. He judged he still had a little while left. After all, Rumpelstiltskin usually spent a long time at work, and supper, in his mind, was at dark.

Bae started down the street, staring in awe at everything around him, although it lacked a bit of its luster after speaking with one of the townspeople. He saw a pawn shop, a library, and a few other buildings, all so tall, before his eyes finally fell upon the diner that the baker must have been talking about. There was a bright light coming from inside the little diner, further off the main road than any of the other buildings and surrounded by a white picket fence. The sign read, "Granny's Diner." Surely some old Granny would be nice enough.

Bae turned off the road and entered the little path leading into the diner, his stomach grumbling with hunger. As he opened the door, a bell rang, and he stared up at it in a little surprise. Ten sets of eyes looked up when he entered, one of them the hopeful eyes of a boy near his age. The boy looked disappointed by him, and went back to his meal.

Bae glanced around. The people in this world were dressed so strangely. The women wore pants instead of long skirts, and tight-fitting clothing that the women in his village would never approve of. One woman in particular wore clothing that made Baelfire flush. She strutted around the diner, bringing food and taking orders. The men wore clothes much the same as the women, colorful and too tight, but looked much better in them.

There was some strange contraption on the wall of the diner, ticking continually, though it was mostly covered by the din of people laughing and eating. For some reason, the sound of the ticking made Bae uneasy, though he couldn't have explained why.

He was still trying to figure out what he would do about his not having any money, when he saw a blond man lounging on a bar stool with a large mug of ale in his hand. It was only midday, but the man was very tipsy already.

Bae grinned. A tavern! That was good news; it meant that people could order food and put it on a tab so they could pay for it later. His papa had probably eaten here before.

Walking up to the counter, Bae climbed up onto the seat and waited for the old woman cooking bacon, which smelled heavenly, behind the counter to acknowledge his presence.

She finally turned around, handing a plate of bacon to the man with the ale, and, with one hand on her hip, faced Baelfire. Her gaze was intimidating, especially for an old woman, but Bae knew somehow that he didn't need to fear her.

"I've never seen you around here before," Granny spoke to him, for he assumed, considered her gray hair and wrinkles, that was who this was, regarded his clothing with interest.

Bae blinked a few times. He considered saying he was new, but settled for a simple shrug, remembering the words of his papa. He couldn't trust anyone in town. They all liked the Evil Queen, who wanted to hurt his papa.

"You like the old clothes better then? Strange, you're the first boy I've seen who has," Granny smiled. "What do you want to eat?"

Bae's stomach growled again and the woman laughed. "Better hurry up and decide."

Bae glanced around at the food other people were eating. None of it, besides the bacon, looked familiar. "Can I...Can I have some roast mutton?"

The old woman stared at him in shock for a few minutes. Then she burst out laughing, as did the blond man sitting next to him. He stared at them in confusion, not understanding what was so amusing. He almost always had mutton at home, before papa had turned into the Dark One and been able to get whatever meal he wished.

"Mutton?" Granny asked, her face red from laughing so hard. "I'm afraid you'll have to go back to the Enchanted Forest for that, boy. What do you want that can take less than twenty minutes to prepare?"

Bae hesitated, glancing around at the food on other plates and realizing he didn't recognize any of it, other than the bacon, but bacon was not a meal.

"How 'bout some chicken tenders? You young boys all eat that," Granny suggested when she noticed the boy's indecision.

Bae just shrugged. "And...maybe something cool to drink?"

"Lemonade, coming right up!" she smiled at him and disappeared behind the counter once more, leaving Bae alone in the room of people.

She returned not five minutes later with his food, and he dug in hungrily. She watched him, her amusement slowly dwindling away to concern.

"You're hungry this afternoon," she observed, planting her hands on the table and watching him to make sure he was happy with his meal. She didn't have any other customers who needed her right now.

Bae just shrugged, eating as much as he could in one mouth full and washing it down with the deliciously cold yellow drink. He hadn't realized how hot it was outside until he came in.

Granny turned as one of her other customers called out for more coffee, ignoring Bae for the present.

It was Henry who took to staring at Bae, confusion written on his face. Emma, who had been watching Henry carefully for some sort of sign that he had accepted Neal was gone, followed his gaze.

"What is it?" she whispered conspiratorially to the boy, reminding her with a smile of Operation Cobra. She hoped that Henry's fruitless search for Neal would not turn into another Operation.

"He looks familiar," Henry stated flatly, his eyebrows scrunching together. "Doesn't he? And why is he wearing clothes from the Enchanted Forest?"

Emma studied the boy Henry was studying, shoving food down his throat like he hadn't eaten in a week. His long black hair was pushed back every so often in annoyance. Chances were, he was just some kid from town, but Emma had to admit that, even with his back turned to them, there was something about him that was indeed familiar. He turned to face them, glancing at the clock with an open jaw. Emma was astounded. He looked a little like Neal.

She shook her head. She was only recognizing the way his shoulders slumped and he kept his head down, the way he had shrugged when Granny addressed him. He was keeping careful to speak only when necessary and seemed distracted...and he looked much the same as Henry had only a few minutes ago. And besides, the way she was feeling right now, everyone looked a bit like Neal.

"He's probably in your book. Or he's probably just someone from your school, Henry," Emma commented, trying to sound lighthearted. "Speaking of which, you'd better start going to school again. You haven't been to school in..." she tried to remember the last time he'd been to school, and could only remember walking him to the bus before the curse was broken.

"Mary Margaret hasn't been to school lately, either," Henry pointed out.

Emma sighed. "Mary Margaret is just a teacher, and you're required to be there. Besides, I think they got her a replacement after she turned out to be Snow White."

"Can I have a replacement?" Henry asked impetuously.

Emma rolled her eyes. "No." He was still staring at the boy up at the counter, only half-paying attention to their conversation. She sighed. "Do you want to go talk to him and make friends or should I?"

Henry glanced up. "What?"

Emma smirked. "Finish up," she gestured to his food.

"Mary Margaret and David aren't even here yet," Henry complained, picking at his food once more. His eyes suddenly brightened, the boy at the counter forgotten. "Maybe they found Neal already, and that's what's taking them so long."

Emma sighed. "Henry, I don't really think-" she got no further, because suddenly the boy at the counter was in an argument with Granny that was so loud the whole diner was an audience to it. Well, it seemed more like a one-sided argument, as Granny was doing all the talking.

"What do you mean you won't tell me?" Emma had rarely ever seen Granny looking so irritated. "You don't have any money, but you'll put it on a tab, and when I ask who your parents are so I can do that, you won't tell me? That's not very helpful."

Emma's senses went on high alert. The boy was obviously some sort of a runaway, though he couldn't have gotten far, considering where he was and the fact that he was wearing clothes obviously from the Enchanted Forest. He shrugged under Granny's questioning.

"My papa will pay for the meal, ma'am," the boy insisted, standing, "I'm just...not sure..."

Granny stared at him. "Well, what is your papa's name? Then we can get this all settled."

Bae just shrugged, not sure if his papa wanted the whole world to know his name, or who his son was, and certain that, if they figured out who his papa was, these people would not be quite so accommodating. They would probably take him to that Evil Queen papa had warned him about.

"It's all right, Granny," Emma spoke up, suddenly standing behind the boy. "I'll just pay for it." She turned Bae around to face her, gripping his arm, her hand like iron. "If you'll answer a few questions."

Bae stared at her in fear. The pretty blonde was very strong for a woman, but that wasn't the reason he was so frightened. He hadn't recognized her when he walked in, but he certainly knew her now. She was that woman, the one he had seen standing outside their door, the one he remembered kissing him...

Looking at her now, he had another memory he couldn't explain. Before he could sort out what it meant, he kicked at her foot, breaking free of her grip and raced out the door, the small bell dinging as the door swung open and slammed shut behind him. If he got in trouble, papa would find out, and then he'd be in even more trouble.

The occupants of the diner stared at him in something like shock. Emma debated whether or not to go after him. She took a few tentative steps towards the door. Something about the way he had looked at her-as if she specifically frightened him-made her feel like she should look into it. It was her job, after all, as sheriff. If she was still being considered sheriff. She wasn't quite sure since the curse had broken.

Mary Margaret and David stepped back for the boy as he rushed past them, violently shoving Mary Margaret out of the way, into the open street, before coming inside. David held open the door for his wife, a look of pure bewilderment on his face as he caught the stares of everyone in Granny's.

"Who was that?" Mary Margaret asked, a hand going to her chest.

Emma shook her head, answering when no one else appeared forthcoming. "I have no idea," she said. "But I think he was in some sort of trouble. I think I should-"

"Emma, sit down, we need to talk," Mary Margaret said suddenly. As much as she wished to help the little boy, there was something much more important they had to discuss first. David slowly sank into the seat next to Henry, and seemed to notice the boy for the first time.

The other diners seemed disturbed for a few minutes, as if trying to decide whether they should go after the boy, but, as they hadn't noticed the signs of neglect that Emma had seen, they went back to their food, simply thinking him a thief.

"Henry," David started in one of those tones that suggested he wished Henry was anywhere but here, "Why don't you go help Granny with making the lasagna. Maybe she'll give you her secret recipe."

Henry raised an eyebrow at him as Emma and Mary Margaret sat down across the table. Emma had decided she would look for the kid later, after a few short words with Mary Margaret. "Are you trying to get rid of me?"

David and Mary Margaret exchanged glances. "No, Henry, of course-" Mary Margaret began in a fake voice.

Henry glared at them. "I'm not a little kid anymore. I can handle it. How many times do I have to prove that before you'll believe me?" Mary Margaret flinched at his words.

"Kid, go on," Emma said tersely. He glanced at her in surprise, as did her parents. She had never used that tone with Henry before.

Sulking, Henry went over to Granny and asked if there was anything he could do to help. Emma turned back to her parents with a sigh. "What is it?"

"We were checking around town a little this morning," David began, heaving a sigh. He really didn't want to be the one to initiate this conversation. "Well, the thing is, Neal's vanished from thin air."

Emma nodded, rubbing her temples again. Mary Margaret wanted to hug her daughter, but refrained, knowing Emma would hate the show of weakness.

"I figured as much," she muttered. "I should have known better than to trust him around Henry. How am I supposed to explain that his own father would rather be-wherever he is-than with his son? And he thinks Gold was a horrible father!" Her voice held a certain strain to it.

"No, Emma," Mary Margaret began, smile taut, "I mean, he's vanished."

"Yes, I know. I wouldn't put it past him to vanish into the air," Emma commented bitterly. "He's very good at that. Ugh! I should have known!"

Mary Margaret shook her head. "You were giving him a second chance, and I don't mean like that. We mean one moment, Neal was here, and the next he was gone. All of his clothing and belongings are still at Granny's inn. There haven't been any cars out of town since Mr. Gold came back. Or buses. Or trains. Or anything that he could have left on, except his own two feet, and _someone_ would have seen him." She waited for the words to sink in. "Emma, he's disappeared."

Emma slowly lifted her head. "What? But-how?" her gaze suddenly darkened as her head lifted and she saw the old black car parked across the street. It had been there since Henry and she had arrived at the Diner, and no one had gotten out. Worse, she recognized it. Standing to her feet and reaching angrily for the gun at her belt, Emma muttered, "I'm gonna kill her," just loudly enough for everyone to hear before marching out the door and slamming it behind her.

Henry jumped and turned to see her marching across the street towards the lone car. Regina's car.

R+R! Man, I can't seem to leave you without a cliffie!


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